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MEMBER DIARY

Four commonsense alternatives to Obamacare

On Tuesday, President Barack Obama continued to sell his government takeover of health care to seniors. Despite the Administration’s PR gimmicks, more Americans continue to reject the product, price and process of Obamacare. Since he signed the bill into law on March 23, Americans have seen what “change” looks like, and it is not a healthy picture.

Americans are disappointed that Obamacare will increase health care spending, increase taxes on small businesses, kill jobs, and eliminate Medicare Advantage coverage for millions of senior citizens. Throughout the health care debate, Americans across the nation held shared goals to increase accessibility and affordability. Rather than throw money at the problem, we need to implement reforms that truly lower costs without placing a financial burden on future generations.

Americans want access to their doctors and treatments with less interference from insurance companies, special interests and, of course, Washington bureaucrats. They want the doctor-patient relationship protected. And for those uninsured or with pre-existing conditions, compassionate calls prevail for an affordable approach to help those who truly need coverage.

After much discussion with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I have introduced a bill, H.R. 5421, that repeals Obamacare and replaces it with four commonsense solutions that both Democrats and Republicans can support. Rather than ramming through a 2,700 page unconstitutional, unpopular, and unaffordable piece of legislation, I propose implementing the following incremental changes that the majority of Americans support:

Allow individuals to deduct 100 percent of their health care expenses, including insurance;

Strengthen and expand new avenues for affordable health care for sick Americans through high-risk pools;

Expand choice and competition by allowing consumers to shop for health insurance across state lines;

And create association health plans, which would allow businesses, individuals and any entity to form pools that will increase availability and allow their sheer size to negotiate lower costs for their employees or members.

I understand that these four common-sense proposals do not make up a complete solution to our nation’s health care problems. However, they are a strong foundation for a bipartisan health care reform package that will start to address the inequities inherent in the health care financing system in our country, while still allowing for additional reforms in the future to advance the health care sector.

There is a better way to improve the best health care system in the world without sacrificing our freedom and expanding the authority of the federal government. It is time to repeal Obamacare and replace it with these four sensible reforms.